Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Hello and welcome to our final blog hop as the CSS Alumni Group. For our final hop we have a bright and snowy photo to use as our inspiration.

I took the colors and the abundant snow as my inspiration and used an older set called Winter Friends to make this Christmas card.

I hope you have time to travel the entire blog hop. Hopefully you came from Lori McAree's blog. If not, please start at the beginning over at StampTV and stop by all the CSS Alumni member's blogs to see how they were inspired by our snowy photo.

And...

Make sure to leave a comment as you go along because we will choose a random comment and that stamper will win a grab bag of Gina K. Designs products! Look for the announcement on Tuesday, December 24.

Sunday, December 01, 2013

I finally purchased a digi stamp I've been eyeing for a while. I adore owls and this stamp from Little Miss Muffet Stamps is just so adorable. I used the sketch from the most recent challenge over at Seize the Sketch. I love the simple layout.

The large chevron heart and sentiment are cut files from Silhouette. I also used the digi stamp to make a print and cut file. Much easier than fussy cutting the image. I also found some older embellishments, the olive metal corner brackets. I bought them years ago and never used them. I thought they looked perfect with the chevron heart. The paper is from a new pad of papers I bought on Friday. The pad is DCWV The Kidlet. I love the fun colors and designs in that pad.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

I've been wanting to play along with MFT's sketch challenges for a while now, but always ran out of time. I finally had some time to use the sketch this week and broke out a stamp and die set that I purchased several months ago when it was on sale. Anyone out there that can relate to that? LOL! This card is for MFTWSC151.

I stamped cut the pocket out of dark gray card stock and stamped it with the stitching outline. Then I added some swirls and flowers. In place of the die cut border of the sketch I stamped various flowers and vines on the white panel and then embossed it with a chevron folder. I love this color combo and how the whole thing turned out.

Saturday, November 23, 2013

I wanted to make a card with some digi paper I printed out the other night and went in search of some sketch challenge blogs. I found a great sketch over at Seize the Sketch. And here is my card using that sketch.

I used an older GinaK set illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger. The digi papers are from Echo Park.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Good evening and welcome to another CSS Alumni blog hop. For this hop the theme is "Thankful". You should have just come from Miesje's blog where she shared her beautiful thankful project. If not, you will want to start at the beginning of the hop over at StampTV.com. Make sure to leave a comment as you go along because we will choose a random comment and that stamper will win a grab bag of Gina K. Designs products! Look for the announcement on Tuesday, November 26th.

This time of year in the US many people are preparing for the Thanksgiving holiday. This brings being thankful to the forefront for many. I for one am thankful every day for the blessings God constantly provides to me. I am especially thankful for my creative gifts and the pleasure I get from being able to stamp, sew, crochet to name a few. If it weren't for my mom taking time to do crafty stuff with me as a kid, I may not be doing all the fun creative things I do today. So my "Thankful" card is meant for my mom to tell her how much appreciate her teaching me to be crafty.

I used a fun set illustrated by Theresa Momber called Up and Away! I love how simple it is to just stamp the balloon images on pattern paper and cut them out for cute hot air balloons. The sentiment is from a set illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger called Holiday Basket.

Friday, November 15, 2013

I made a few cards last weekend while we were camping. They are all for Sweet N Sassy's Release challenges. I had limited supplies with me which made it challenging, but satisfying and fun.

Challenge One - Include Snow or Snowflakes

Challenge Two - Use Kraft with Shades of Blue

Challenge Three - Make it Masculine

It felt good to get some stamping time in and I feel like my mojo is slowly growing. I especially am finding it hard to get into the Christmas card groove. Watching some Christmas movies is helping though. First it was The Grinch (my favorite Christmas movie of all time) and now Polar Express (love the hot chocolate scene).

Tuesday, November 05, 2013

I must admit that I very much like the new fox image trend that is emerging. I adore the owls that are out there and now these foxes have captured my heart as well. I found this cute little fox Christmas stamp in the dollar bin at Michael's the other day.

I made two slightly different cards with this cute little fox. I had fun adding all the fun little elements too. Are you getting ready for Christmas? I am trying to get some Christmas cards done now, so I have them ready.

Saturday, November 02, 2013

With the unseasonable warmer weather we've been having here it is hard for me to get into the Christmas card making spirit, but I need to get stamping nonetheless.

I made this first card for the SplitCoastStampers Sketch challenge.

The second card I made for one of the Mini VSN challenges going on right now over at SplitCoastStampers.com. We were given a yummy picture as inspiration. I always love a chance to make something with an image of a mug on it.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

I've been trying to get some Christmas cards done, so I am not making them last minute. So for our last sketch I have a Christmas card to share. I actually put a bunch of glitter accents on the card, but it is hard to see in the photo. It looks much cooler in real life.

I hope you will stop by The Sweet Stop Sketch blog and see what the rest of the Sugar Babies did with our last sketch. You can also link up your project that you made this week with the sketch.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

What a beautiful Saturday. It is finally feeling like Autumn here. Nice cool mornings and beautiful low temp days. For the Sweet Stop Sketch this week, we have an Fall/Autumn spin.

I pulled out some older fun fall papers as my starting point. I stamped some leaves from the Leaf Silhouettes set with colors from the pattern papers and used them in place of the oval shape. I cut the thankful sentiment with my Silhouette Cameo.

Please join us and show us what you can make with the sketch this week. You can see what the rest of the Sugar Babies made and link up your project over at The Sweet Stop Sketch.

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." Psalm 100:4 (NIV)

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Happy Soggy Saturday Everyone! Boy have we been getting pounded with rain. I thought I saw Noah floating in his Ark today. LOL! And to top it off we had reservations for a camping trip this weekend. So I am writing this post from inside our RV. Praying it stops raining soon.

I love the sketch this week. A very simple sketch that really opens a lot of possibilities. I ordered the Featured Set, Season of Change, last week from Sweet N Sassy Stamps and had to use that for my card. I just love the gorgeous leaves. And how about that quote. So glad God never changes. For my card I pulled out this fabulous pattern paper I bought from Hobby Lobby a while ago. I just love all the wonderful words about God on the paper. So uplifting! I pulled some of the colors from the words on the paper to stamp the leaves and cut them out. I wanted to give a little bit of a grunge feel, so I sponged everything and rolled the one corner of the main panel.

Now it is your turn to show us your stamping stuff with the sketch this week. Please stop over at The Sweet Stop Blog and look at what the rest of the Sugar Babies made with the sketch and then link up your card or project.

"God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" Numbers 23:19 (NIV)
When everything around me seems to be out of control and people let me down, I am full of joy knowing that God will never change nor will He let me down.

Saturday, October 05, 2013

I received a new stamp from Little Miss Muffet Stamps in the mail this week and had to ink her up. The stamp name is Jasmine. This is my first stamp from the company. I just adore this little girl hugging her bear so tightly. The "Bear Hugs" sentiment is from the Sweet N Sassy Stamps set, Love From Rhubarb, which is on sale right now. I added a lot of texture to this card. I pulled the colors for the stamped image and the card stock from that plaid paper. I've had this plaid paper sitting on my table for a while and finally found a way to use it. I used embossing folders on the red and the blue panels. After embossing them, I rubbed some VersaMagic Cloud White Chalk Ink over them. I love that look. I added lots of silver half pearls to make it shine. Then finished it off with some white lace trim and polka dotted ribbon.

Now it is your turn to give the sketch a try. You can head over to The Sweet Stop Sketch blog to see what all of the Sugar Babies did with the sketch and then link up your own creation.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)

Saturday, September 28, 2013

My starting point was a beautiful pad of paper by Recollections. I pulled out a few gorgeous sheets with coral pinks and taupe's. I used my favorite go to set for feminine cards and fabulous sentiments, Precious Poppies. I stamped the larger poppy image directly onto the floral pattern paper and then again on the pink polka dotted paper. I paper pieced the flowers and left the rest as is. I added some pretty lace trims and a bow with a button center.

Now it's our turn. Head over to The Sweet Stop blog and see what the rest of the Sugar Babies made and then link up your project for the sketch this week.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

This week we have a spin with the Sweet Stop Sketch. The spin is School Time. I wasn't sure where to go with this one at first. I'm way past my own school years and don't have any children school. So I went through some already printed Digi Stamps and found a fun image by Mo Manning. Since. The one girl is holding a binder and a book. That fits the School Time bill for me.

I pulled out a paper pad I got from Walmart a while ago and made sure I colored the image very brightly. The black just pulls it all together. I moved the piece represented by the star to the left to accommodate the image of the girls.

Now it is your turn. Head over to The Sweet Stop Sketch blog for more inspiration by the Sugar Babies and upload you project for the sketch with a spin this week.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Time for another Sweet Stop Sketch. For this sketch I stretched the card base and made it to fit a business size envelope.

The card base is Early Espresso. I found the awesome pattern paper at Hobby Lobby and bought a bunch of it. I love the message and the colors. I pulled the colors of the card from the paper. I love the fun silhouette leaf stamps from the Leaf Silhouettes set. I used some words from the Mini Tags & Sentiments set. And the Happy Thanksgiving sentiment is from the Save the Turkeys set. So many different sets that work perfectly together. I pulled it together with some fun twine and a wooden button.

I can't wait to see what you've done with the sketch this week. There are so many possibilities. You can see what the other Sugar Babies made and enter a link to your newly made card over at The Sweet Stop Sketch blog. So get stamping.

Saturday, September 07, 2013

The weather is cooling down here, and that means Autumn is on it's way. Plus Starbucks started selling Pumpkin Spice drinks about a week ago. I've had several Iced Pumpkin Spice Chai Lattes. Yum! My favorite Autumn holiday, of course is, Thanksgiving. And lucky for the guy on my card I am sharing today, I don't eat turkey. So he is saved. :)

I used the SNSS set, Save the Turkeys. I bought this set last year after Thanksgiving when it was on sale. This is my first time inking it up. Isn't he just so cute with his little sign. I pulled out my stash of Autumn papers and used two different patterns from Hobby Lobby. I used some vinyl backed burlap I got at Michael's for the larger banner and added some large brads to the top to hold it down.

Now it's your turn to use the Sweet Stop Sketch for this week and create something. You can share a link to your project over at The Sweet Stop Sketch blog and while you are there check out what the other Sugar Babies created with the sketch.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

My friend's niece graduated as an Honor Star at a Christian Life Assembly ceremony tonight. I made a card for her using The Sweet Stop Sketch this week.

I used a square instead of the oval to make it work better for the star image. She likes purple, so I used purple with some light blue. The star and flower stamps are from Unity. The niece stamp is from SNSS. I also used a scripture verse and the sentiment, "You are so precious to me!" on the inside of the card, both from Precious Poppies. I love the Proverbs 31:30 verse from the Precious Poppies set. It was perfect for the inside of this card.

It's your turn to give this sketch a try. You can link up your card or project over at The Sweet Stop Sketch blog. You can also get inspired by seeing what the rest of the Sugar Babies made.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Another Saturday brings another Sweet Stop Sketch challenge. This week the challenge also has a spin: Sunflowers. Ahhhh, I love sunflowers. There is a farm nearby that has been growing fields of them for the past few years. We drove by a field of them last Sunday on the way to church and I smiled the whole time we were driving by that field. And what an appropriate name; sunflowers. They are like rays of sunshine aren't they?

Anyway, I pulled out an older GinaK set, Autumn Beauty, that has some sunflower stamps. The sentiment is from a new Sweet N Sassy Stamps set, Sweet Kiwi Koala. I used some fun vintage looking paper from Hobby Lobby that I had in my stash. And had to pull out some burlap ribbon. I love burlap with fall images like the sunflowers. And of course I had to add some stitching.

Please join us and create something with the sketch this week. Head over to The Sweet Stop Sketch blog to share a link to your newly created project using the sketch and also check out what the other Sugar Babies created with the sketch this week.

Saturday, August 03, 2013

I made a Happy Card for the sketch this week. The sketch is pretty simple, leaving room to show of some fun pattern papers. I had this pretty sunshine paper and some fun hearts paper. Since I've been in a sewing mood lately, I added a lot of stitching to this card. I stitched along half of the sun rays and around the heart strips. I love how the stitching turned out. I put a little orange button in the center of the sun to cover up the ends of the stitching lines. The sentiment is from the newer Sweet Kiwi Koala set.

So now it's your turn. Head over to The Sweet Stop Sketch blog and get all the details. Also, make sure you look at all the eye candy created by Sugar Babies.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Happy Saturday! Time for another Sweet Stop Sketch. This week I decided to use the sketch for something other than a card.

I was wandering through Michael's the other day and found a really cool framed canvas coated with black Gesso. Then I found a roll of laminate back burlap. And I knew I wanted to use the Grunge Borders stamp set on the burlap. I pulled out some trading card size adhesive back canvas sheets I had in my stash to stamp the Proverbs verse from Precious Poppies. It much bolder in real life. I was kind of hard to get a good shot of the decorated canvas. I did some stitching with black thread and added some fun earthy embellishments. I stamped one of the butterflies from New Beginnings with white chalk ink to finish it off. I like how it turned out and will definitely find a place to hang it in my apartment. I am definitely going to do some more projects like this in the future. I had fun incorporating my other favorite hobby (sewing) with stamping.

Head over to The Sweet Stop to check out the full challenge and see what the other sugar babies created. Then take some time to play along with the sketch this week.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Another Saturday and time for another Sweet Stop Sketch challenge. The sketch this week has lots of fun circles and a Spin. The Spin is Doilies.

I pulled out an older GinaK Designs set that has a large doily stamp and fun sentiments that look cross stitched. I also pulled out the MME Stella Rose pad because it has some fun doily prints. The blue base piece is a blue doily print. And there are doilies on the colorful strip with the twine. I also stamped the large doily with Pink Pirouette and then stamped the sentiment with Early Espresso over the doily.

It's your turn to try out the sketch and don't forget the doily spin. Head over to The Sweet Stop Sketch blog to get the challenge details and to see what the rest of the Sugar Babies did with the sketch.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

I've been a little MIA the past couple of weeks. I enjoyed some much needed time off work to go camping with my mom. Camping is fun, but it was very hot and humid. I asked her if we could start going camping January instead of July. I don't think she went for it. LOL!

I pulled out a new 8x8 paper pad I bought at Walmart last week. I love the fun colors and patterns. So that was my starting point. The sentiment is from the New Creature set. I used a square in place of the circle and the wooden cutout bird on a branch instead of a bow.

It is now your turn to try out the sketch this week. Take a little time to get creative and cool off if you are in a warm climate like me.

Make sure you stop by The Sweet Stop Sketch blog to see what the rest of the Sugar Babies did with the sketch and share a link to your project.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

It's another Saturday and we are officially into Summer. Yet, I am soooo ready for Winter. It is also time for another Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge. The sketch this week is a nice simple one. Perfect for using up some card stock scraps. Which is what I did.

I used a Whisper White card base. I stamped the poppies image from the Precious Poppies set several times along the top of the card and then layered the pattern paper pieces along the bottom. I also stamped the poppies on some white scraps and cut out the open flowers. I attached them with a small glue dot in the center so the edges of the petals are loose and slightly raised for dimension. I cut the tag out with a Silhouette cut file and stamped Friend, also from the same stamp set onto the tag. I tied it onto the ribbon with some baker's twine and attached a little safety pin.

I would love to see what you make with the sketch this week. Head over to The Sweet Stop Sketch blog to get the details and to see what the rest of the Sugar Babies made.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Happy Saturday everyone! I am currently enjoying some fun camping time. I was able to get a little stamping in this week while camping when it wasn't raining. I made the card for The Sweet Stop Sketch this week during one of those nicer days.

This week we also have a theme: "It's A Girl Thing!" I don't have a lot of girly stamps, but I thought this verse from the Precious Poppies set was a perfect "girly" verse. I used some pattern papers from my stash. I cut the scalloped banner, ovals and "button" with my Silhouette. I used the cool Basket Weave embossing folder from Darice that I just picked up last Friday. I love that textured pattern and will be using it a lot. I tied it all together with some twine and lace trim.

I would love to see what you can do with the sketch this week. Get your girly supplies out and get stamping. Check out all the details and see what all the other Sugar Babies did with the sketch and theme over at The Sweet Stop Sketch blog. Then upload your project over on The Sweet Stop Sketch blog.

"A wife of noble character who can find it? She is worth far more than rubies." Proverbs 31:1Remember you worth when you honor and obey your LORD and savior.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

I brought some of my stamping stuff with me camping. I'm hoping to find some of my mojo here in the woods. :) I made this card on Sunday and finally have a chance to share it here.

The base is a cut file from the Silhouette store. I also found the ribbon slider cut file there. I used some older stamps from Stampin Up for the sentiment and the doodle stamping on the inside. I'm not sure where the pattern paper is from. I had that in my stash.

Saturday, June 08, 2013

Happy Saturday! We have another fun sketch here at The Sweet Stop for you. I had a lot of fun with this one. I used some great textures to create an uplifting card.

I used some of my favorite Sweet N Sassy stamps on this one. The sentiment I used from the Be Encouraged set is one of my favorites. I am so glad that the God I serve does not have limits. For texture I used a couple of embossing folders. I also bought some thin adhesive backed cork the other week that I used for the card. I stamped the chevron pattern from Grunge Borders with Early Espresso ink. The new Stampin' Up ink works so well on the cork. I will be making some more cards in the near future with this cork. I also found some awesome pattern paper from Hobby Lobby the other week that I used as my jumping point for the colors and theme. The tag and it's elements are from the free Silhouette cut file this week. I will be entering this card in their challenge this week as well. I just thought the tag was perfect for the focal image of this card. I used a small crocheted flower made by me. I am addicted to making these little flowers. They are so much fun to make.

Saturday, June 01, 2013

I've made a card that is a little different from my norm this week for The Sweet Stop Sketch. I wanted to use some new colors and am challenging myself to make cards without using pattern paper. This is what I came up with.

I used my Silhouette Cameo for a few of the elements of the card. Cutting the center piece with the smaller square cut-out was easy with the Cameo. I also cut the mat pieces and the funky green border. I used a few different embossing folders for texture and the chevron stamp on the main piece. Love Chevrons!!!

Saturday, May 25, 2013

I decided to keep things simple with my card for the sketch this week. I pulled out one of the flowers I crocheted. They are so much fun to make and pretty easy with some practice. The pattern paper is from MME. The sentiment is from the Sweet N Sassy set, Precious Poppies. Perfect on the wavy banner. I added some adhesive backed pearls randomly to the flower centers of the circle shape pattern paper. I used a gorgeous vintage brad in the center of the flower. It's all put together and adhered to a white square card base measuring 5.5" x 5.5".

Please remember to take some time this weekend and especially on Monday to remember those who have given their lives to defend our country and pray for the families they left behind. I am thankful for those who are willing to put their lives on the line to secure my freedom. Have a blessed Memorial Day Weekend!

Saturday, May 18, 2013

It's Saturday once again and time for another Sweet Stop Sketch. The sketch this week includes a spin, Going Buggy. :) Love that spin. Goes perfect with my screen name. ;)

I am not sure if you can tell, but I stamped a butterfly on the paper behind the stamped vellum. Since it is hard to see, I added another smaller butterfly on top of the sentiment. I used the stamp sets, New Beginnings and New Creature. The pattern paper is MME.

I hope you will find some time to play along with us this week. You can get all the challenge details and see what the other Sugar Babies made with the sketch this week.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Sunday is Mother's Day here in the US. I need to make a special card for my mom, so I decided to use The Sweet Stop Sketch for my card. This was a very challenging sketch for me. It made me stretch my mind a little further to come up with a perfect Mother's Day Card. Sorry about the blurriness. It has been so overcast here the past few days. The sun was out for a little bit while I was at work today, but decided to go back under just as I got home. So it is what it is.

I decided to use the Precious Poppies stamp set. And had this piece of pink paper with white polka dots sitting on my stamp table for quite some time. I thought the flowers would look lovely paper pieced with that paper. Eureka! I was off to creating a fun card for Mom. As I was putting the flowers onto the rectangle layer, I decided I like how they stuck out over the edge and left them that way. I like how that looks. I pulled out some pattern papers from the My Minds Eye Stella Rose pad. I love that paper pad. I had some Baja Breeze seam binding ribbon sitting out as well. It matched the blue in the paper perfectly. I also added some stitches with my sewing machine and there is my Mother's Day card. I hope she likes it.

Now head over to The Sweet Stop blog to see what the other Sugar Babies made with the sketch and then pull out our favorite stamps and play along.

Have a great weekend! And if you are a mother in the US (or anywhere else for that matter), Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Happy Saturday! It is supposed to be beautiful weather all weekend and I am camping. Yeah!!! I also have my weekly Sweet Stop Sketch card to share with you.

I struggled a little with this sketch. But after all that is what challenges are for, right? The papers are from My Minds Eye Stella Rose. It is my favorite pad of paper right now. :) The card base is Blue Bayou (miss that color from SU). And the circle is matted with Early Espresso. I used some distress inks on the edges of the papers and added some texture with the sewing machine. The stamp set I used is called Vintage Seed Packet. I love the little sentiment "Grow in Grace". Perfect for a seed packet image.

I hope you will take some time to join us and play along with the sketch challenge this week. You can get the sketch challenge details on on The Sweet Stop blog and you can see what the other Sugar Babies made with the sketch.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

It's time again for another CSS Alumni Blog Hop. If you are following the hop from the beginning you should have come from Lori's blog. If not, you will want to start over at StampTV.com and see what all CSS Alumni have created for the challenge.

Our theme for this hop is Spring Has Sprung. Of course when most people think of spring they think of flowers. I think of my favorite flower of all time, a simple white daisy. I cut the petal layers using a Silhouette cut file. The center is a circle stamped with the dotted image from the set Lovely Ladybug. The sentiment is also from that same set. I used the Sketch #432 from SplitCoastStampers for this week. I thought it was perfect to allow the flower take center stage. The photo is a little blurry, the flower looks so stunning in real life. I think I will make a whole bunch of these flowers and put them in a vase to admire.

Now head over to Miesje's blog to see what Springy creation she has to share.